Let me get to the point. I have said before that I like to "dabble" in books. Well, currently I have 3 that are each yelling at me to pick them up during the kid's afternoon naps. I literally shuffle the pile, close my eyes, and jab my finger into the air until it lands on the
divine choice. I feel as though I am coming close to tiptoeing into the ocean of God's revelation after struggling for a while ,each day, to glean a drop of water out of my almost empty canteen in the desert. God is always faithful as we continue to let even the drops sustain us.
I wish I could type out my Focused Fellowship "sermon" from last night but considering it was 3 pages typed in 12 point font and I would have to re-type it in something that would make sense to everyone, and not just me, I have decided to give you some fantastic snippets over the next 3 days from the 3 different books that I am enthralled in right now.
The divine selection today comes from the book "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World," by Joanna Weaver. The Lord has been whispering "simplicity" in my spirit and so this book goes in that direction. This first chunk comes from pages 7-8 so you can only imagine that this is the tip of the iceberg.
You probably all know the story of when Jesus comes to the home of Mary and Martha. It is short, so grab your bibles and refresh yourself if you feel the need to. Luke 10:38-42. And maybe pause here and grab a cup of coffee too. :)
Enjoy.
"Against this Bethany backdrop of unexpected guest, I see the struggle I face every day when work and worship collide.
Part of me is Mary. I want to worship extravagantly. I want to sit at his feet. But part of me is Martha--and there is just so much to do!
So many legitimate needs surround me, compelling me to work. I hear God's tender call to come away, and I respond, "Yes, Lord, I will come." But then the phone rings, or I'm reminded of the check I was supposed to deposit--yesterday. Suddenly all of my good intentions about worship disappear, swallowed up by what Charles Hummel calls "the tyranny of the urgent."
We live in constant tension between the urgent and the important," Hummel writes. "The problem is that the important task rarely must be done today or even this week. Extra hours of prayer and Bible study can wait. But the urgent tasks call for instant action--endless demands pressure every hour and day."
Dose that sound familiar? It does to me. The twenty-four hours allotted to each day rarely stretch far enough to meet all the obligations I face. I have a household to run, a husband to love, children to care for, and a dog to feed. I have church commitments, writing deadlines, lunch engagements to keep. And very little of this is what I would call deadwood. Long ago I tried to cut out what I thought was extraneous. This is my life--and the hours are packed full.
So where do we find the time to follow Mary to the feet of Jesus? Where do we find the energy to serve him? How do we choose the Better Part and still get done what really has to get done?
Jesus was the supreme example. He was never in a hurry. He knew who he was and where he was going. He wasn't held hostage to the world's demands or even its desperate needs. "I only do what the Father tells me to do, " Jesus told his disciples.
In obedience to his invitation(to sit at his feet) we find the key to our longings, the secret to living beyond the daily pressures that would otherwise tear us apart. For as we learn what it means to choose the Better Part of intimacy with Chris, we begin to be changed."
And a bit from page 9.
"The Living Room Intimacy Mary enjoyed with Jesus will never come out of the busyness of Martha's Kitchen. Busyness, by itself, breeds distraction. Luke 10:38 shows us a woman with the gift of hospitality. Martha opened her home to Jesus, but that doesn't automatically mean she opened her heart. In her eagerness to serve Jesus, she almost missed the opportunity to know Jesus.
Luke tells us that "Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." Key word: had. In Martha's mind, nothing less than the very best would do. She had to go all out for Jesus.
We can get caught in the same performance trap, feeling as though we must prove our love for God by doing great things for him. So we rush past the intamacy of the Living Room to get busy for him in the Kitchen-implementing great ministries and wonderful projects, all in an effort to spread the good news. We do all our works in his name. We call him "Lord, Lord." But in the end will he know us? Will we know him?"
And a tiny bit more from page 61 talking of the part of the scripture where Jesus tells Martha that only one thing is needed.
"Only one thing is needed--and it was happening, not in the Kitchen, but right there in the Living Room.
Notice, however, Jesus didn't rebuke Martha because she was fixing supper.....Jesus wasn't concerned about her external abilities at all. It was her internal disabilities that he probed...
After all, intimacy can be threatening. Getting close to Jesus means we can no longer hide our inadequacies. His light illuminates everything that is wrong and ugly about our lives. Unconsciously, therefore, we may flee God's presence rather than pursue it....
But the truth is, we can't get our spiritual act together unless we go to the Living Room first.
It's not always easy to get there. Intimacy with God may require leaving our comfort zones. Some people feel uneasy in the presence of God. They dismiss the act of worship as too emotional, preferring the intellectual pursuit of Bible study or doctrine. Or they simply have trouble being still, because that's their personality. But regardless of our temperament, or emotional preference, we are all called to intimacy with God. The one thing Martha needed is the one thing we need as well.
If you struggle to stay at his feet, ask the Lord to reveal what is hindering you. There is no need to lay aside your intellect or your personality when you enter the Living Room. Just come as you are.
As a child of God."
Good stuff, huh? Speaks to my busy-itis for sure!
In Christ,
Tanda
